This application claims priority from UK Patent Application No. 9808326.4 filed Apr. 20, 1998, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference.
This invention relates to cables such as electric and fibre optic cables.
Cables carrying power and data are commonplace, and furthermore, the widespread introduction of computing and communication devices is rapidly increasing the need for copper and fibre interconnections. As the density of these devices increases, managing the cables becomes a problem. Wires can wrap around each other in a mess, or disappear into a bundle in the wall. Trying to find which wire is which at the other end is extremely difficult. Different coloured cables can help, as can labelling the cable ends. That, however, is of little use when hundreds of wires are in close proximity.
We have appreciated that there is a need for cables that can be controlled to change their appearance and thus stand out from the crowd when necessary. This may be by changing colour or emitting light. Thermochromic or electroluminescent materials embedded in the cable could be activated to indicate the path of a particular wire or fibre. Tracing the route of a cable through a building would then be as simple as clipping a test probe to one end and following the light. Alternatively, specialised connectors would allow computers to selectively illuminate cables, to help users plug peripherals into PC""s, to show the path taken by data between devices, and to indicate the network faults that show levels of network congestion in particular cables.